Ethnographic Museum – Berkovitsa

The Ethnographic Museum of Berkovitsa reveals the material and spiritual culture of the town and the region. It is housed in the building of Sarbinskata House, a typical representative of the old urban houses in Berkovitsa.

The various museum collections include pottery from Berkovitsa, Chiprovtsi carpets, Sarakatsani costumes, urban dresses from the 1820s, etc. The traditional crafts for the region such as pottery-making, production of copper objects, and silk production can also be seen in the museum.

The inner bathroom is of extreme interest to visitors because of the water-heating method it used: two ceramic jars were hung on one of the bathroom walls, and a stove was inserted on the other side of the wall, where the kitchen was.

When the stove was lit it heated the water in the jars. A ceramic sewerage conveying the sewage and a miyka – the place in the kitchen where vessels were washed – can also be seen in the house.

The ticket for the ethnographic museum allows people to visit two more tourist attractions in the town. One of them is Ivan Vazov House Museum which is not very far away from the ethnographic museum. The famous poet Ivan Vazov (1850 – 1921) lived and worked there in the period 1879 – 1880.

The house was built at the beginning of the 19^th century, and it was declared an architectural and construction monument of culture of national importance by virtue of publication in State Gazette, issue No 100 of 1964.

The other tourist attraction that can be visited is the Town’s Art Gallery, situated in the churchyard of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Church. The gallery contains over 1400 works of art: drawings, caricatures, sculptures, etc.

The Ethnographic Museum of Berkovitsa oftentimes hosts temporary and thematic exhibitions and collections. Concerts, book presentations, craft demonstrations, etc., are held there. It is also one of the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria.

Tourists can find information materials about the ethnographic museum and the other tourist attractions in the town in the Tourist Information Centre of Berkovitsa.